Souffle Pens

Last week I was online searching for micron pens when I stumbled upon something very interesting, souffle pens. Have you heard of them before? They claim to have 3-D ink that leaves a raised line when dry. With that claim, I had to test them out. It was practically a craft call of duty.

I tracked down a set at Paper Source because apparently waiting for two day shipping is like eternity for me. As soon as I got home, I had those markers out and was doodling on everything, paper, pennies, plastic caps.

Left: ink in process of drying, Right: ink is fully dry

So I'm sure you're wondering if they really work? They do create a raised surface. It looks kind of like acrylic paint. It's not as raised as using embossing powder. To get the raised effect, the pens must be used on a non-porous surface. They also show up great on dark paper. The one drawback is the ink gets used up quickly. I've already gone through one third of the white ink. That said, I see these pens good for accents to artwork such as cards.

I'm still testing the souffle pens out and trying find unique uses for them. If you have any ideas for me, I would love to hear.

Printable Mini Paris City

I bookmarked this paper project by Made by Joel for a rainy day. Turns out that rainy day turned out to be a sick day for me. I needed something besides TV to keep the kids occupied so I printed out the mini Paris city. My daughter spent an entire hour meticulously coloring the people and buildings. I even let her use my good Pantone markers.

Click here, for the free printable by Made by Joel.

While my daughter was coloring the Arc de Triomphe I overheard her say, " I think it's a toy shop....(long pause).....yep, it's a toy shop." I told her what it really was but I'm not so sure she was convinced.

Craft: Wine Cork Vase

Today I've got a quick craft tutorial for you, wine cork vases. They're easy to make and only require a few supplies.

I can imagine these miniature vases adorning a table for a wedding. Sometimes I wish I had a wedding to plan simply for the crafting/decorating part of it. Maybe I missed my calling, party planner. But then again, I'm way too greedy with my weekends. I want them all for myself and family.

Supplies:
Wine cork
X-Acto knife
Small plastic vial - I used a plastic vile from a bubble container. The kind you find in the wedding section of the craft store.
Small craft saw

1. Soak wine cork in water overnight. This will prevent the cork from falling apart when you carve it.

2. Hollow out a hole in the center of the cork with an X-Acto knife. This takes a little time and patience. It took me about 10 minutes to carve out the hole.

3. With your craft saw, cut plastic vile to fit in cork.

*Don't have a bubble container on hand? Look around your house to see what else you could use. The plastic containers seed beads are packaged in would work just as well. Another idea would be caps from skinny markers. Check the junk drawer and get creative, you're bound to find something. Where there's a craft will there's a way.

4. Place plastic vial in wine cork, fill with water, and add a flower.

*Because the vases are so light, I recommend placing a removable glue dot on the base to prevent them from falling over.

Letterpress Love

Isn't this just the cutest sriracha card you've ever seen? You know, because there are soooo many sriracha cards out there. I gave it to my husband for Valentine's Day. I wanted to share the card with you earlier but since my husband reads this blog, I had to wait until after V-Day. I purchased the card from Printerette Press on Etsy.

I also picked out this cute "feel better" card. Something about it reminded me of the retro Fisher Price toy doctor kits. I don't have anyone in mind to give it the card to. I just like to keep a few different cards on hand for all occasions. Although, today I kind of felt like giving myself this card, suffering from a migraine. But I'm feeling better as I type this so all is well.

Do you have a favorite brand for letterpress cards? Please share in the comments.

A Mameshiba Valentine

This year I decided to do something a little different for Valentine's Day. Instead of giving my children candy or cards, I decided to knit them a batch of tiny mameshiba. Each mameshiba is about the length of a quarter (I knit them on size zero needles) Now I just need to decide whether to hide them around the house or package them in some cute Valentine's Day take out containers.

What are mameshiba you ask? Well, they're tiny bean dogs that show up in random places with random quotes. If you're curious about the bean dogs, you can learn all about them at Mameshiba. I've also written about them here and here.

Happy Valentine's Day!